Rangers announced on Tuesday that 19-year-old fellow centre-half Leon King had suffered a long-term injury during pre-season training in Germany.

Balogun has signed a one-year contract.

"I am just excited to be honest," he told Rangers' website. "I am just really really happy to be back at Rangers - it feels like coming home.

"Since I have left, I have always felt a lot of appreciation and love from friends I have made in Glasgow and around the club."

Berlin-born Balogun, who has 46 caps for Nigeria, originally joined Rangers in 2020 from Wigan Athletic and helped secure the league title under Steven Gerrard and a place in the Europa League final under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

He was then considered surplus to requirements by the Dutchman, but Michael Beale feels "Leon is a person that I have full trust in both as a footballer and a man" after working with him as Gerrard's assistant.

"He is extremely well-liked by everyone inside the club and we are very happy to have someone with his experience and leadership qualities re-joining our squad," he said. "Naturally, he will integrate back into the club very quickly and he understands fully our way of working and style of play.

"As a free agent, we were able to move quickly so that he could join us here in Germany. It was really nice to see the reception he received from the players and staff on joining us here at the camp."